A Modest Proposal

This opinion column was submitted to the LongmeadowBuzz blog by John J. Fitzgerald, a Longmeadow town resident and member of the Longmeadow School Committee.

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Recent months have witnessed recurring discussions about what Longmeadow should do about three major concerns. Those concerns are:  the condition of the two middle schools in town, the need for a decent Senior Center and the need for a safe and strategic home for the DPW department.

The Select Board seems singularly inept in dealing with this problem. Their solution seems to be: ignore the problems. This is neither just nor adequate.

A recent development has the seniors vocalizing on behalf of taking large chunks of land at Bliss Park for a Senior Center. A number of fellow citizens have objected.

I share their concern about the destruction of Bliss Park. I think we should leave it as it is, which is a wonderful family centered park in the middle of town.

What can we do to protect Bliss Park and at the same time address the other real town wide concerns?

The answer to that question is contingent on a holistic response that speaks to the concerns of the entire town and its community.

As I see it, the seniors do need a new center which is appropriate to their needs and appropriate to the best interests of the Town of Longmeadow.

We also need a new DPW location. (The recent proposal of the DPW committee speaks to this. I have not read the full proposal.)

We also need to seriously address the needs of the Middle Schools in Longmeadow, Williams and Glenbrook.

I support the following solution:

1. DPW to be placed at Greenwood Park Center off of Maple Road. Minimum loss of playing fields and playground area.
   
   This would be the site of headquarters, mechanical service areas, radio communication center, repair, etc. Garage storage areas and parking lots. Some vehicle storage and repair sites at Wolf Swamp Road near East Longmeadow line. No diminution of playing fields. Create an attractive site near Twin Hills and Field Club.
    
2. Senior Center to be placed at Glenbrook Middle School. No diminution of playing fields. Close Glenbrook. Renovate Glenbroook for Senior Activity needs.
    
3. Middle School situation to be remedied in the following manner.
   Place new enlarged Williams Middle School on playing fields of Williams Middle School. Construct new and larger building. Tear down old building. And then create athletic fields.
   
   With New Williams Middle School complete, we transfer student population of Glenbrook to Williams. Turn Glenbrook over to town for Senior Center. 

This plan addresses all the needs of the town and does so in a practical manner. All major interest groups have their needs addressed. Those with abutting real estate are protected from any harsh changes or hazards. The Commonwealth pays for most of the funding for a new middle school. We will have to do some bonding to pay for the DPW and Senior Center projects.

What do you think?  I think we will need to create a coalition to bring this three part project to pass.  But that task is far superior to just doing nothing.

Let’s get this project rolling forward!

John J. Fitzgerald

Let’s Build a New Senior Center

This opinion column was submitted to the LongmeadowBuzz blog by Betsy Port, a Longmeadow town resident.

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Yes, we need a new building for The Longmeadow Senior Center – that is a fact! I do not know when or if it will ever be built since I do not own a crystal ball. I do know this; creating a building of 12,000 square feet within a 3.5-acre part of Bliss Parkland would be a mistake. Perhaps you can change my mind, but creating a structure on park-like land seems like an obvious problem. Traffic flow has increased over the years and Bliss Road and Laurel Street will only become busier when the construction ends at the shopping center and cars full of shoppers shop!

A Committee has been working hard all summer, holding seven meetings and discussing several sites across town. Our family received a snail-mail invitation to a September 1st meeting for neighborhood homes. We live near the wooded side of Bliss Park, but could not attend a meeting right before a long weekend. I wish we had been given more notice, but they were on deadline.

If built, the new center would be located in the southeast corner of Bliss near Oakwood. A total of 100 parking spaces would be needed and I fear over 30 trees would be cut down. These trees may not be that healthy or that green but I am a true tree hugger so I hate to loose them. If possible, I think the committee’s choice should be modified. They came up with only one option. People like to have choices. What is their second choice? Are they any other options for the residents to consider? Laurel Park is not an option in my humble opinion.

Some might say that to upgrade the structure at Greenwood Park would be costly and ill advised. Maybe the whole thing should be razed and we might build something better if we can afford to start over. It is my understanding that both Greenwood Park and Turner Park are not preferable options. The DPW project seems more urgent right now, but when can we really have room in the budget for the Senior Center? I have called the tree warden, the Park and Rec Department and some other leaders but I still have more questions than answers. Maybe I am just too crazy to think that a large structure inside a designated park is horrible to contemplate. What to me is short sighted is the way the process has moved ahead. Where are we getting the money for anything if the town has serious fiscal concerns? We need to be realists! Can we please keep the big picture in mind?

Maybe we need to rethink the whole long range plan set forth in 2001-2002. Saving our open space and green landscape was a top priority at that time, about fifteen years ago. Have our priorities changed? Do we need a Community Center instead of a Senior Center? The Community House is in the Historic District and not practical for our growing needs. As far as I’m concerned it is for voting, offices and dance classes. Should children have an opportunity to learn and share with their elders? Read the recommendations in other magazines and papers. This is the wave of the future. Where can we meet and come together as a community? Is it possible to redefine what is needed? Let’s find a peaceful and practical solution for everyone to agree on, if that is possible. I just don’t want to loose something that we can never get back!

As Joni Mitchell wrote in 1969:

“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
With a (Senior Center), a boutique and a swinging hot spot
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got Till it’s gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
They took all the trees and put ‘em in a tree museums
And charged the people a dollar and a half to see ‘em
Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got Till it’s gone
They paved (Bliss Park) and put up a parking lot”

Betsy Port/ Farmington Avenue